Taxonomy and Biodiversity

Biodiversity is a concept to describe the structure and dynamics of life not only at species level but also at infra- and supra-species levels. The two following examples highlight the importance of the concept of biodiversity: there is 5 to 10 times more genetic divergence between two chimpanzees of the Pan troglodytes species than there is between two of the most distant humans; generic variations within a single species of angiosperm are on average much greater than genetic variations within the species of coleoptera. Furthermore, species interactions and associations between species that co-exist locally create communities that structure themselves at their own scale. In short, counting species on the basis of taxonomic criteria is the first stage of an exhaustive account of biodiversity. It must be furthered by the analysis of phylogenetic relationships and interactions between organisms and the environment.